Chapter Synopsis

Chapter four is titled “Wisdom Stories.” The chapter spends considerable length looking at the book of Job but it also mention other wisdom literature within the Bible such as those found in the book of Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Solomon, Job and Ecclesiastes. There are some good points that Rachel Held Evans made about the situational aspect of wisdom though she bashes conservative Christians for not considering this. However I think its unfortunate that she’s not aware of those like John Frame who talks about the situational aspect of Christian ethics while holding to a high view of the Word of God being normative. This chapter has so many sloppy thinking and leap of logic we will focus on the highlights.

Wisdom for Different Situations Does not Mean the Bible have Multiple Views/Voices

On page 98 Rachel Held Evans said something rather interesting:

IN short, when it comes to the nature of suffering and blessing, the Bible does not speak with a single voice. There is not a biblical view of theodicy. There are biblical views of theodicy. And the people who wrote and assembled Scripture seemed perfectly fine with that unresolved tension.

Here Evans states she believes the Bible has many voices or perspectives within Scripture. By voices and perspective Evans will later in the chapter show that she means they are conflicting perspectives being presented (more on that below).

While Scripture in one sense has many “voices” in the sense that there are different human authors yet there is also a more deeper profound sense that there is one voice with the Bible in the sense that Scripture has one view since it is the “voice” and “view” of God, the Divine Author of Scripture. 2 Peter 1:20-21 states: “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” Note how Scripture is not just a matter of human will but ultimately that of God. So there is a sense where we can say the Bible reflects one voice or one view namely that of God. As I mentioned throughout this series it is an incredible omission that Evans does not interact with or show basic awareness of verses from the Bible that teaches on the nature of the Bible. This is another case in point.

How did Evans come to the view that the Bible has multiple views? In the next paragraph Evans writes:

Job’s friends make the mistake of assuming that what is true in one context must be true in every context–a common error among modern Bible readers who like to trawl the text for universal answers. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar said some ‘biblical’ things in their remarks to Job, and yet in that context, those things weren’t true. We should be wary, then, of grand pronouncements that begin, ‘The Bible says.’ Where? To whom? In what context? Why? ‘You reap what you sow’ may apply in one circumstance, like when the apostle Paul said it in his letter to the Galatian church to encourage them to continue in good works (Galatians 6:7), but it fell woefully short in the context of Job’s plight. So Job rightly condemns his friends-turned-accusers, saying, ‘If only you would be altogether silent! For you that would be wisdom’ (13:5, emphasis added).

Wisdom, it seems, is situational. It isn’t just about knowing what to say; it’s about knowing when to say it. And it’s not just about knowing what is true; it’s about knowing when it’s true” (98)

Here Evans rightly note that wisdom is situational. That is, there are different principles that apply depending on the situation. She gave some good examples of wisdom applying differently according to different contexts in the quoted excerpt. However just because there’s different applications of wisdom according to different contexts that doesn’t necessarily mean the Bible therefore has multiple views/voices. For example an individual can have a single perspective or opinion about a subject matter and yet the person acts differently according to the situation. A general might have the perspective he needs to win against the enemy militarily and yet what his response is will depend upon the situation with the enemy. Just because there’s different principles and good course of action depending on the situation doesn’t mean the general is schizophrenic with “many voices” and “many perspectives.” Likewise it would not be right of Evans to observe that wisdom for different situations demanding different recourse somehow mean there must be different views and voices in Scripture.

Wisdom for Different Situations Does Not Mean the Bible is Inconsistent

As mentioned above Evans somehow wrongly reasoned that wisdom for different situations mean the Bible have multiple Views/Voices (which we just pointed out as incorrect). Evans also wrongly believe that wisdom for different situations means the Bible is inconsistent. On page 104 Evans stated her conclusion:

Evans presented several biblical passages as examples of how the Bible is inconsistent. The first example is on page 97 where Evans pitched the book of Job against the book of Deuteronomy:

Even more significantly, the book of Job challenges the prevailing wisdom–wisdom found elsewhere in Scripture–that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. As professor and author Timothy Beal puts it, ‘The book of Job is like a fault line running throughout the Bible. In it, the moral universe affirmed in texts like Deuteronomy, according to which righteousness equals blessed well-being and disobedience equals cursed suffering, is shaken to its core.’ (97)

Note how Evans essentially thinks the book of Deuteronomy teaches “Karma” but the book of Job challenges that. She even quote an author name Timothy Beal to say that the book of Job shakes the book of Deuteronomy to its very core. But Evans is engaged in gross generalization of the book of Deuteronomy here. The book of Deuteronomy does not necessarily conflict with the book of Job since the book of Deuteronomy also challenges the notion that “good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.” Blessings that Israel received ultimately is not because they were good but because God loved them (see Deuteronomy 4:37, 7:7-8, 7:13, 10:15, 10:18, 23:5, 33:3). By the way all humans are sinners so no one is so good that God must be obligated to give good things to His people. Furthermore Deuteronomy is in agreement with the book of Job in that Job was innocent and the book of Deuteronomy also acknowledge that sometimes evil things happen to those who are innocent (Deuteronomy 19:10, 19:13, 21:8-9, 27:25).

Evans also gave examples of proverbs and Ecclesiastes of alleged inconsistencies on pages 103-104. I’ve written about how Proverbs are not contradictory but paradoxical in a post titled “Paradox of Proverbs, and it’s application” which removes the force of her argument in her book. Basically her examples assume a faulty hermeneutic of the literary form of the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in which she failed to acknowledge that those books often present “slice of reality” of truths for different circumstances. Ironically she reads the Bible like the very caricature she presents of fundamentalists and Conservative Bible believers in order for her to make the case there are Bible inconsistencies. For more on heremeneutics of the book of Proverbs check out this heremeneutical outline: BIBLICAL GENRE HERMENEUTICS COURSE: SESSION NINE: POETRY IV: PROVERBS.

The Bible a Lousy Owner’s Manual?

On page 103 Evans says something shocking:

…because Scripture consists of stories, poems, proverbs, letters, laws, genealogies, parables, and a host of other genres that can be difficult to categorize since they emerge from a culture so different from our own.

Because of all this, the Bible makes a lousy owner’s manual. It fails massively at getting to the point.

Note she said “the Bible makes a lousy owner’s manual.” This is due not to the fact that the Bible technically is not an owner’s manual (which I would agree with her) but because the Bible consists of various literary forms written from a different culture. But this is contrary to what God has to say about His own Bible. Listen to 2 Timothy 3:16:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

The opposite of a lousy owner’s manual is a helpful owner’s manual. Here we see 2 Timothy 3:16 describing Scripture as being helpful and not “lousy.” 2 Timothy 3:16 is not written in blindness to cultural differences; Paul was the human author and being ethnically Jewish he still described the Bible as helpful to a Greek man and for a Gentile church age. It’s incredible that Evans conclusion is contrary to God’s own statement about the Scriptures; nor does she interact with 2 Timothy 3:16 here whether before or after her bold assertion. Yet the means of how she got to her conclusion is heavily problematic as we noted in this post.

50 Responses

Thanks for your review. Racist Held Evans once again tips her hand that, despite her disingenuous title, she absolutely does not think the Bible is the inspired word of God. She’s worse than a Bart Ehrman or a Richard Dawkins, as she says the same sorts of things about the Bible that they do but at least they are open about not being believers.

Of course different situations may require different actions. An ectopic pregnancy may require an abortion to save the mother while the child will die either way. But wolves like Evans use that to dismiss truly universal truths that killing children for the other 99.9% of reasons is evil. And she is wildly pro-LGBTQX perversions, even though the Bible couldn’t be more clear and consistent about God’s views on sex.

Brother you are so right when you said “She’s worse than a Bart Ehrman or a Richard Dawkins, as she says the same sorts of things about the Bible that they do but at least they are open about not being believers.” I think this chapter I analyzed was the worst one I have read thus far and I noticed how crafty she is to finally reveal some of her lowest view of Scripture in the middle chapter of the book. Her religious guise makes her dangerous. I appreciate you calling out RHE both in the two comments on here and also on Twitter; to me I do think you do have an important role on Twitter and would hate to see you freely leave that platform.

Thanks so much, but I did quit Twitter. But after several years she finally blocked me, so I couldn’t see her posts anyway. Previously she had muted me, which was great, because her followers could see all my refutations of her but she didn’t know it!

I am against abortion in all cases. I would never kill anyone to save my own life. It is best to follow the natural course of pregnancy and pray to God to protect the mother and child. remember that it is God who creates the human being in the womb and a mother who kills the child is usurping God’s right to take life. Christians should not be selfish. Christ sacrificed himself for us and we should do the same for our fellow men, even more for a son

I agree this comment from her really stood out….along with her statement that ” the Bible makes a lousy owner’s manual.” She’s crafty to put this in the middle chapter of the book. If she had that in the beginning many people would have stopped reading there. I lament seeing how popular her work is being touted on social media. The assertion that God’s Word “fails massively at getting to the point” is a lie way back in the Garden of Eden isn’t it? Let us pray for those deceived by book that they see the truth sister!

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar said some ‘biblical’ things in their remarks to Job…

This is a little off subject but the Book of Job is the example of what happens when people are puffed up on knowledge but have no relationship with God. In that sense it is a GREAT owners manual because it shows us an attitude of arrogance that we need to learn from and avoid. It is just as is written in 2 Tim 3:16 … All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

Spoken like a non-Christian. The Bible teaches over 100 times that Jesus is the only way to salvation (it isn’t just John 14:6, though that would be enough). What could be more clear? But a spiritually blind wolf like Evans can’t see that — and obviously doesn’t believe it.

Also, consider the following truths and how Evans’ perversion-affirming god teaches the opposite:

100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior denounce it as sin in the strongest possible terms.

100% of the verses referencing God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.

100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).

0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions.

well said. Modern “Christians” love to use the argument “if Christians changed their minds about slavery because they can not change about homosexuality?” simple. because the bible in some points is even positive about slavery, but with homosexuality it is always negative 😉

Thanks for reviewing this chapter of Held Evans’ book. Ach! I feel like I need to take a bath and it’s only a review! Held Evans’ purports to be a Christian, a follower of Christ, yet she has an extremely low opinion of the Bible. In contrast, Jesus taught an extremely high view of Scripture as God’s written Word. Held Evans is not following Jesus Christ. Why does she even bother attending church service on Sunday since she doesn’t believe any of it. She would be better off staying home and watching the NFL pregame shows. Argh! Rant over. She needs our prayers.

I do feel like a bath going over this chapter from RHE especially since I had to go back again and again to make sure I’m not misrepresenting her and finding its worst than I thought. I imagine you know that feeling in light of your series looking at Armstrong’s misrepresentation of Scripture!

RE : I imagine you know that feeling in light of your series looking at Armstrong’s misrepresentation of Scripture!

True. When you’re the one entering into a doctrinal sewer system for necessary analysis, you must request the protection of the Holy Spirit and appropriate a mindset that allows you to get the job done despite the environment.

Wisdom really can be multi dimensional,situational, which is why we have prayer and the Holy Spirit to help guide us. Scripture will also reveal itself to us “….precept by precept, a little here, a little there,” so it really is an amazing “owner’s manual,” it is just not intended to be the tech specs for a piece of electronics or something. If you’re going to approach scripture as if it were just like furniture assembly instruction from IKEA, you’re going to have left over screws rolling around in the bottom of the box.

No offense to RHE, but she has left over screws rolling around in the box and her furniture if falling over.

Well stated: “No offense to RHE, but she has left over screws rolling around in the box and her furniture if falling over.” I think that’s funny but accurate of her view. Next time I got to IKEA I’m going to be thinking about Rachel Held Evans and this comment because of your comment and word association!

Yeah, I figured she didn’t believe The Scriptures as God’s Inspired Word. I can see how she would make these mistakes if her perspective were such that she considered The Bible to be a ‘human’ literary work. Seems to me that the key to understanding God’s Word, is prayer and faith. The only way I’ve been able to understand some of The Scriptures is by praying for God to help me with it.

“The only way I’ve been able to understand some of The Scriptures is by praying for God to help me with it.” That is so true. Many times it’s prayer that led God to reveal truths from His Word and applications from His Word. It’s helpful to check pride and arrogance when we rightly pray and know it is Him who reveals Himself in His Word. Thanks for the reminder! Is your health doing better?

It’s an incredible thing Rachel Held Evans said. Actually I feel this chapter I critiqued I was surprised at many things she said that’s really out there. Have you heard of her before? I must admit I am surprised to learn how popular she is and I would never have read her if it wasn’t for a blogger name Alf that pointed out this book to me as something I need to critique. It seems what’s popular doesn’t correlate with what’s biblical nor what’s rational and academic either.

[…] Truth has another review on her latest disingenuously titled book, “Inspired” — Analysis of Rachel Held Evan’s Book “Inspired” Part 6. I admire SlimJim for reading it all so we don’t have to! I’d read excerpts that […]

Once again, so well done, Jim! I will eventually put something up on my website and link to your work. I’m holding out for a while.

Having just read two intense commentaries on Job, I found RHE’s treatment of it superficial at best, and contrived. It’s obvious she relishes in alleged biblical contradictions because this (in her mind) gives her permission to disobey in select areas.

I want to pass along some very important news that everyone needs to hear!

If you haven’t already, it is time to seek God with all your heart. Jesus loves you more than you could imagine. He wants to have a relationship with you and redeem you from your sins. Turn to Him and repent while there is still hope! This is forever…God bless!

And again…thank you! I knew that RHE waffled on issues, such as homosexuality, but never did I realize that she believed:

Because of all this [varying Biblical genres], the Bible makes a lousy owner’s manual. It fails massively at getting to the point.

Ugh.😖As you note, she passes over what Apostle Paul states:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness…(2 Timothy 3:16)

And continues: “[…] so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17)!

Why is this important?

But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these! (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

RHE was crafty indeed–a false teacher–leading people to a false “truth”…God help those who are traveling her road.